ROCKINGHAM — Following up the Richmond Observer’s Top 10 Sports Stories countdown of the COVID-19 shortened 2019-2020 school year, ROSports will be publishing two “honorable mentions” lists.
As in previous years, the honorable mentions, like those in the countdown, are moments from the athletic school year that could be individual or team-based that stood out amongst the hundreds of games, matches or meets competed in by Richmond student-athletes.
The 10 total honorable mentions are all moments from the last fall, winter or spring sports seasons that could have landed on the list, but just narrowly missed out. In the next two installments of this series, there is no ranking order of the games or matches written about.
This edition is dominated by Lady Raider athletes, with honorable mentions from five different programs and each season represented. Below are stories highlighting achievements of the Lady Raider basketball, cross country, soccer, softball and volleyball teams.
Four goal scorers, late PK sparks soccer win over Purnell Swett
Although the Lady Raider soccer team and head coach Chris Larsen saw their season cut to just five matches this spring, Richmond earned a 2-2-1 record. The most exciting of those wins came on March 6 at home against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Purnell Swett High School.
The early-season meeting was a fight to the finish, seeing early first-half goals from sophomore Kaitlyn Huff and junior Jayla McDougald put Richmond up 2-0 in the first 12 minutes.
After allowing three unanswered goals, senior Carley Lambeth drilled the tying shot from 20 yards out in the 57th minute.
With the clock winding inside two minutes, Richmond’s offense moved the ball into Purnell Swett’s box and a handball was called on Ashley Locklear. Larsen sent senior Avy Lucero (Johnson & Wales commit) to the line and she went to the bottom left corner to beat the keeper and ice the win in dramatic fashion.
Volleyball returns to 4A playoffs for second season under Larsen
On the volleyball court last fall, the Lady Raiders were led by second-year head coach Ashleigh Larsen and five seasoned seniors. The volleyball team earned a spot in our countdown after it defeated rival Scotland High School on senior night to take third place in the SAC standings.
In her two seasons as head coach, Larsen has guided the program to back-to-back third-place finishes, while also making the postseason both times. Integral players to continue the successful trend were seniors Jasmine Ewing, Jadyn Johnson, Madison Jordan, Carley Lambeth and Layne Maultsby, as well as several underclassmen.
Prior to notching the No. 14 seed in the 4A West playoff bracket and a home match against No. 19 Reagan High School, the Lady Raiders returned to the SAC tournament championship for the third straight season. They defeated Purnell Swett and Scotland to advance to the title match against Pinecrest.
The success had by Larsen and the Lady Raiders will look to continue this fall, as the “relentless pursuit” of the program continues to ramp up despite the COVID-19 outbreak.
Lady Raider softball wins first two games to start Mike Way era
Cut to just three games this spring, the Lady Raider softball program was looking to earn its eighth consecutive SAC title, and the first under new head coach Mike Way. Although the season ended abruptly, the Lady Raiders showed promise in the early going.
Against Uwharrie Charter Academy to open the season, a homer and four runs batted in by Madison Jordan highlighted a 13-3 mercy-rule win. Richmond collected 13 total hits, seven going for extra bases (five doubles) and junior Paige Ransom won her first career start in the circle. Junior Payton Chappell and sophomore Taylor Waitley both went 3-for-3 at the dish.
Five nights later, junior pitcher Kearston Bruce threw a complete game in her first career varsity start, leading the Lady Raiders to a 15-2 win over Anson High School in five innings. Richmond used a pair of six-run innings in the fourth and fifth innings to put the game away.
Freshman Quston Leviner, sophomore Allyiah Swiney and Chappell all collected a team-high two hits, while Swiney and Chappell each recorded a game-high three runs batted in.
Basketball snaps 13-game skid against Lumberton
On Jan. 10 when the Lady Raider basketball team and head coach Teddy Moseley welcomed in SAC foe Lumberton High School, they had dropped three of their first four conference games. But that changed with a 54-21 rout of the Lady Pirates.
The bigger story of the night was Richmond snapping a 13-game losing streak to Lumberton, dating back to Feb. 2014. The 33-point win also gave the team its 10th win of the season, one it would finish with a 16-9 overall record and get snubbed from making the 4A state playoffs.
Helping Richmond defeat Lumberton in the first meeting of the season was senior wing Keionna Love, who netted a game-high 19 points. Junior teammates Jakerra Covington and Jayla McDougald finished the night with nine points each.
The Lady Raiders swept the regular-season series against the Lady Pirates, beating them on the road 57-41 on Feb. 12.
Several cross country runners impress at 4A Mideast Regionals
Wrapping up this Lady Raider edition of honorable mentions is the effort put forth by the girls’ cross country team at the 4A Mideast Regionals in November. In what would be head coach Reggie Miller’s final meet as part of the program, several runners nearly qualified for states.
Richmond was led by senior Airel Brown, who ran the 3.1-mile race at the Carolina Horse Park in 23:02.50, good enough for 69th place in a field of 116 runners.
Freshman Sheccid Heaton was the second finisher for Richmond, crossing the finish line in 26:31.50.
She was the first in a line of three straight Lady Raiders to clock in, with senior Analee Wyand (26:39.30) and junior Allyson Leggett (26:52.10) following suit. Freshman Rylie Bohman closed it out with a time of 26:58.80.
Note: Our final installment of honorable mentions will be released in Thursday’s edition.
